Wager
'''Wager '''is the 86th chapter of Jun Mochizuki's Pandora Hearts. Synopsis Reim is looking through the box that had been carried to Lutwidge Academy by the Barma Page that Rufus had sent, finding the box to be filled with letters which Sheryl had written to Rufus. Oz attempts to gather Reim's attention, but instead Reim pieces together that Rufus must want him to read the letters, based on Rufus' actions of sending him to Lutwidge to rendezvous with Oz and receive the box from the Barma Page. Elsewhere, Break is being carried through Pandora on Dug's back, thinking of how his body is so incredibly weak at the moment and how it's almost as if he's falling to pieces. Break remembers when Lily asked if he was dead in his cell, reminding him of the time Shelly asked him if he just wants to up and die, wondering if Break didn't just want to be saved. Break mutters to himself because of his flashback of Shelly, mentioning that he can't die yet, as well as Shelly's name; something which catches Lily's attention. Dug and Lily bring Break into the main hall of Pandora, where Sheryl and Sharon are also being held. Dug drops Break to the ground and asks his Baskerville companions if everyone is present, which the Baskerville confirms, leading Dug into his explanation on the situation to Break, Sharon and Sheryl, claiming that all three of them had disobeyed the Baskervilles. During Dug's explanation, Sharon runs to Break's side and begs him to try and pull himself together - whilst an intrigued Lottie leaves Xai's side to get closer, though Lottie is not overly impressed with the way the Baskervilles have been functioning since Oswald's return. Lily then takes the opportunity to kneel beside Sharon and ask who Shelly is, which confuses Sharon greatly. Lily elaborates by saying that Break had mentioned Shelly a little while ago, asking if Shelly was someone important to Break. Sharon doesn't respond, however Sheryl confirms Lily's assumption instead - explaining that Shelly was her daughter and Sharon's mother, but that she had died long ago. Reim reads one of Sheryl's letters to Rufus, where Sheryl apologized for her lack of composure in the days before and continued to explain how Shelly had never been a healthy child, and as such she had tried to prepare herself in case something were to happen to Shelly. Sheryl stated that she thought that she'd be able to handle it when the day came, but she was mistaken, as the day that Shelly collapsed before her she could only cry and panic. Sheryl thanked Rufus for rushing to the Rainsworths' side in their time of need, stating that she could not explain how grateful she was. After finishing the letter, Reim takes notice of the dates of them, realizing that they had been sent around 40 years ago, so Shelly had been three or four years old when they were written. Oz asks Reim if there was anything of importance that they could use within the letters. Meanwhile, Gilbert questions Reim as to if he really believes that Rufus never really did betray Pandora, which Reim confirms. Gilbert finds this outrageous, reminding Reim of Rufus' attempt to kill Sheryl. Reim only says that Gilbert is wrong, because even though Rufus had attacked Sheryl, no one knows if Rufus intended on killing Sheryl or not. This catches Gilbert off guard, allowing Reim to ask if it isn't possible that Rufus had chosen to do what he'd done because it created a less severe situation where Sheryl avoided immediate death by the hand of the Baskervilles. Not to mention the fact that his attack on Sheryl allowed him to seem outright loyal to the Baskerville Clan. Gilbert accepts that this could be true, but asks what explanation there could be for Rufus leading the Baskervilles through Pandora and to the Sealing Stone. Reim explains that the Baskervilles would have eventually come to Pandora in search of the Sealing Stone anyway, and that Rufus was probably thinking that if he helped the Baskervilles occupy Pandora rather quickly, it would minimize the damage that would've been inflicted if the Baskervilles attacked on their own accord. Gilbert doesn't believe that such a thing could be possible, but Reim justifies that Rufus had put an end to the fighting between Pandora and the Baskervilles so that he could inform everyone of Jack's intentions and the overall truth of the Tragedy of Sablier. Gilbert doesn't understand, as he knows Rufus as a person who will cast anyone aside as if they were a mediocre chess piece that he has no further use for, which Reim doesn't deny. Instead, Reim tells Gilbert that he understands that everything looks complicated, but because the principles behind Rufus' actions are so awful - his intentions are blatantly clear. Reim attempts to clear the confusion by saying that if Rufus had really intended on making Oz, Gilbert and Alice disappear, they wouldn't be safe in Lutwidge Academy. Reim slumps down, frustrated, adding that because of Rufus' intent, there has to be some kind of clue hidden in among the letters. Suddenly, Oz notices something about the letters and brings it to Reim's attention. Oz isn't sure if it is anything, but mentions that the dates of the letters' compositions are all divided up into the same sort of lines, no matter how you look at them; making him wondering if there's some kind of fixed reading using the dates of the letters. Reim asks Oz to reorder the letter by date, realizing afterward that they make a cryptogram. Without warning one of the Baskervilles punches Break in the head, sending him to the ground. The Baskerville asks Dug why they can't just kill Break now instead of waiting until the scheduled time, because Break is too dangerous to be left alive. The Baskerville then reminds Dug that many of their friends have been murdered by Mad Hatter, which sparks Lily's memory of Fang. Lily grows furious because Break killed Fang, which leads the other Baskerville to kick Break in the stomach. In the meantime Break is breathing heavily and uncontrollably, prompting Sharon to continuously beg the Baskerville to stop beating Break. The Baskerville picks Break up, holding him at eye level as the Baskerville questions why a Chain like Mad Hatter even exists. The Baskerville punches Break again, while Break thinks of how the reason Mad Hatter exists is because the Intention of the Abyss asked for it and so she'd granted him Mad Hatter for his own personal destruction, and so that he could fulfill her wish to destroy her when the time came. Break remembers Shelly kneeling before him as they talked about how Break should embrace his mission to grant the Intention's wish and hold onto his life, as a young Sharon brought a bouquet of flowers to Shelly for Break, an act which makes Break smile. Break also remembers when he visited Shelly while she was extremely ill and bedridden. Shelly reached up to Break's face and told him that it's okay to be dependent, but he needed to try living a little, and that he needed to keep moving on no matter how painful it gets. Break told Shelly that he understood, because he can't die yet, thinking of a young Sharon and even the promise he made to the Intention of the Abyss. Three of the Baskervilles have now surrounded Break, once again moving in for the kill. Sharon has had enough after all her useless begging, managing to free herself from her confines and jump in front of Break to protect him. In response, however, The Baskerville who lead the beating of Break slaps Sharon and orders her to move, sending her falling to the ground - stunning both Sheryl and Break. Back at Lutwidge, Reim is feverishly attempting to decipher Rufus' cryptogram - deciding that his answers are too simple. Reim thinks out loud, saying that if Rufus created this cryptogram, he should know it. As well, Rufus would've likely changed every single numeral, however Reim writes this off as wrong because Rufus would've changed it to a word from his homeland. In the end, Reim is faced with "THE KEY OF AP PRO VAL IS A... "; and so Reim pulls out his Carcere - having finally realized what it all means, and wondering how he didn't manage to notice it before. In Sablier, Oswald keeps Rufus on an isolated ledge, with Oswald questioning whether or not Rufus was going to summon Dodo to defend himself. Oswald then teasingly states that he knows Rufus can't use Dodo, because the Key he destroyed at Pandora wasn't the Rainsworth Key, it was the Barma's Key to the Abyss. Rufus confirms Oswald's suspicions, explaining that he and Sheryl used to possess each other's Keys to the Abyss, having done so a long time ago to ensure that neither of them would betray the other - with Rufus having intended to re-exchange the Keys in such a manner. Oswald asks where the Rainsworth Key is, with Rufus stating that he'd always carried it on his person until recently, and that currently it should be being handed to his subordinate (Reim). Reim lifts something out of the box Rufus sent, after having decipher Rufus' code as "SILVER LOCKET" - revealing that Sheryl's Silver Locket is in fact the Rainsworths' Key to the Abyss. Oswald questions if that means that when Rufus destroyed the Barma Key, he had been using the Rainsworth Key to block Mad Hatter's power. Rufus reveals that he allowed Mad Hatter to attack Dodo so that he would have an excuse for not calling upon his Chain, and he had Dodo destroy the Barma Key so that it fool the Baskervilles. Oswald doesn't understand, questioning Rufus' motivation for going so far to ensure that Break and the others weren't killed. Rufus bluntly tells Rufus that the story doesn't concern what the Baskervilles are attempting to do, and that there's no helping it, because of the promise which he'd made to the woman he loves years ago. Rufus elaborates that what he gave Reim had a slight tear in it, so that the power of the Key would be suppressed for a small amount of time, allowing the Rainsworth Dukedom to carry on surviving for a little longer when they gain access of their Chains once more. At this moment, back at Pandora, Break and Sheryl can feel something within them as they regain control of their Chains. Sheryl smiles and says that she'd thought as much, directing her statement at Rufus. Oswald wonders why Rufus would go so far at a time like this, when the world is being destroyed. Rufus realizes that Oswald is dissatisfied, voicing his disgust - which confuses Oswald, and so Rufus states that it seems as though Oswald has already given up. Rufus explains that he'd said it before, that what he does is make wagers. At Pandora, Break picks up Sharon and offers her some support, surprised by Rufus' actions. At the same time revealing that Break had used Mad Hatter's power to kill the Baskerville that was leading the assault against him and who had attacked Sharon, as well as severing another Baskerville's arm, and that Mad Hatter has been summoned in full to deal with the Baskervilles. Characters in order of appearance *Mad Hatter *Oswald *Dodo* *Lottie *Xai Vessalius *Intention of the Abyss* }} Terms Trivia *Alternate title: -Connecting the Dots- *Shelly Rainsworth's back story is revealed, as is Shelly's fate. Navigation Category:Manga